The Art of Losing
by Luffoverhate
Summary: ONESHOT Sasu/Saku   "Sakura." She seemed to be un-phased, as if she had known of his presence all along. The last few drops of essence dripped from the rim of her container before she screwed the cap on tightly, lifting her gaze to meet his. "Sasuke."


**Please read:**

**Sorry if you have read this before. I deleted all of my stories half a year ago do to certain circumstances but I'm back now. :) I hope those of you that are new to my work enjoy, and old followers I promise there will be a new piece in the next few days ;)**

Found an old hand written planning page for this today and my muse went running across the page o_O Don't remember when I thought it up but I think it turned out well. hope you enjoy~!

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The day was oddly bright after so many months of snow. The cool breeze was crisp against the flesh so that one wouldn't need a jacket, but longer sleeves would prove comfortable. The smell of fresh grass hovered in the air only to mix with the sweet sent of flowers slowly blooming from the ground.

He could hear the gentle run of water in a near by river. The fluid liquid dipping a bending, much like the movements he was practicing. His hand rose in a sweeping motion, his stance relaxed yet sharp at the same time. His movements were precise and followed carefully, a talent he had picked up through many years of training.

His lungs expanded greedily as he breathed in his nose, a warm rush of air escaping him shortly after through parted lips. He could hear the sound of birds chirping gently, something his chidori would never master. His ear twitched as the familiar sound of birds was suddenly accompanied by feminine humming.

His stance faltered.

With an exasperated sigh he opened his eyes, glancing about the small forest clearing. He had been hoping that no one from Konoha would venture this far into the neighboring woods, a place even ninja often ignored. It was a thicket of nature that lead to nowhere for weeks on end, a place he had often taken residence in.

It took him only moments to follow the direction of the noise, his footsteps light and almost inaudible. The trees thickened for a moment before they began to thin, and he found himself in another small clearing.

The grass was a crisp, fresh green and the mist in the air soothed the fire in his lungs from his previous training session. The trees swayed ever so gently in the breeze as his feet began to climb a small hill.

As he raised his eyes a lone sakura tree came into view and he could only roll his eyes at the irony. It stood tall, yet fragile. Its bark peeled in dyeing segments, its branches hanging more like a burden than vitality.

It was the first time he had seen her in years.

Here she was, vibrant pink hair falling delicately over her shoulder as she sat on her knees, pouring a small canteen full of water over the drying roots of the tree. Over the years the river that once ran trough this opening had dried, leaving the tree without the one thing it desperately sought.

In a way he was her river.

"Sakura."

She seemed to be un-phased, as if she had known of his presence all along, her humming continuing its soft melody without falter. The last few drops of essence dripped from the rim of her container before she screwed the cap on tightly, lifting her gaze to meet his.

"Sasuke."

He huffed, his ego deflating at her obvious refusal to react to him. He looked over her form, taking note of her black t-shirt and the warm knitted shawl wrapped around her petite shoulders. He watched the way the sunlight fit the features of her face, and the way her lip curled in a soft smile. For the first time he noted that she was indeed a woman, and that they had both grown up so much.

"What an honorable ninja, watering a plant." He stated with a sense of smugness, a smirk overbearing his expression. But she didn't glare or yell; she didn't try and punch him through with one of those powerful blows he had seen on the battlefield.

She merely smiled.

As she stood she rested her hand on the curling bark, tracing it with her slender fingers. He knew not to be deceived by their delicate look, for they had often dug into human flesh to kill or save.

"I was merely helping a poor, dying soul." She leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to the rough trunk, and for a moment Sasuke wondered what that simple pressure would feel like.

Shaking himself from his seemingly unpleasant thoughts he followed her with his gaze as she walked a small way down a worn path, the one she appeared to be taking often. He mildly wondered if she may have known of his presence in these woods prior to this meeting, but decided he would have noticed her should that be the case.

"What? No trying to drag me back to that pathetic village you call our home?" He called after her, searching for something that would push just the right button. He wished for any reaction other than this sickening sweetness she gave him.

"I learned a long time ago you don't go anywhere you don't want." She turned gently, looking over her shoulder at him. "I just need to help you find that want."

He scoffed loudly, shaking his head. The small movement left his hair to fall across the smooth skin of his face. His eyes gazed at her lazily through the thicket of black. "Still hanging onto that old crush, Sakura?"

She smiled a small, sad smile as she took in his cruel tone. "I don't have time for simple crushes, Sasuke."

He studied her carefully a moment, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Just what game are you playing at?"

"No game," She giggled softly, a sweet sound he had been deprived of for so long. His mind willed his body to move towards her, any closer to her small frame would be enough. But he stood strong, biting his cheek. "I just want to help you."

"You can't cure me, Sakura. I'm not one of you're broken patients."

"There are many things I can't cure," She whispered softly, beginning her path towards town once more. "And you're right, stubbornness is one of them."

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The air was slightly warmer now, the time of year when t-shirts become common place. Deer frolicked merrily through the forest around him as he took up his usually stances, moving easily through the old cool down exercises he had learned from his unforgettable past.

He tried to steel himself against her.

Their chats were off putting and confusing. They made his head ache in a soreness he rarely felt, the guarded portions of his heart mocking him. He wanted so badly to make her angry. He wanted to see that spit fire girl that he used to know and not his silently happy woman he met a mere month ago.

He tried to tell himself he only practiced near this tree because it was a good area, filled with a simple charka flow often found in nature. He withdrew himself from the idea that he might actually _want_ to see her.

"Again?"

Her soft voice pulled him from his movements as he turned to face her. Her shawl was gone in these warmer days and she often noted that the breeze felt more like 'home'. He didn't understand a thing she said. She was like a complicated puzzle and he wondered how he failed to notice this before.

"Don't flatter you're self by thinking I'm here for you." He answered, returning to his training. From the corner of his eye he watched her. Her normal full canteen was with her as she walked with a grace he hadn't known her to possess.

He watched as she twisted of the familiar cap and poured the clear liquid over the drying roots of the secluded tree. His gaze lingered longer than he meant it to as she rose, pressing her small lips to the bark as she usually did. He couldn't place why his mouth felt so dry.

"Of course you're not." Sakura smiled softly, taking the moment to rest against her dying friend. "But soon."

Anger flared in him for the umpteenth time. No matter how hard he tried to break her, it was him failing. His eyes flashed a dangerous red and all their movement stopped. A strong wind caused the hallowing tree to shudder softly, small buds clinging to it in small clumps.

"And what the hell make you think that?" He advanced toward her, staring down at her smaller frame. He noted the way her hands shook and the paleness of her cheeks at his growing nearness. A smirk crossed his features as he pieced together her puzzle. So she was afraid of him?

"And what makes you think," He slammed his hand into the tree behind her, effectively watching her jump and her pupils widen, "That you can save this tree? You can't save _anything_. Not even yourself if I remember correctly."

He was taken back when her eyes darkened and her small fist pushed lightly against his chest, effectively disconnecting him from her sacred object.

"I'm not trying to save it," she mumbled softly, turning to check the damage done by his aggressive behavior. "I just…"

Her eyes softened as she touched the fragmented wood, fingers glowing a faint green as she tried to help mend its broken cells. The dying wood groaned under her fingers before she finally ceased, turning to look back at him.

"I just want to see it bloom one last time."

He steadied his heated glare at her, unwilling to back down from his misplaced anger. He was a jumble of confused emotions. It had been years since he had actually wanted to talk to this girl, much less seek her out whenever possible. He couldn't fight the growing anger in his voice.

"You can't fix everything, Sakura." He sneered, watching her through relentless eyes. "Did you think you could give it your care and medicine and watch it bloom like some fucking love story?"

"Medicine can't always fix what's broken," She whispered quietly, though her anger still would not flare no matter how he tried. "You taught me that."

He laughed out loud at her raw emotions. The chuckle scratched at the back of his throat and died down, his normal smirk curling the corners of his lips as sarcasm rose like bile.

"I'm so sorry that you lost your heart to my _wretched_ disease."

He would always remember the way her eyes softened, and the gentle smile on her face. He was surprised to find himself wanting to reach out and tuck her strands of bubblegum locks behind her ears.

"You're not the disease, Sasuke."

He stiffened at the feel of her palms against his cheeks, her soft fingers faintly touching his skin. It was the first real contact they had had since he had seen her four years prior. He couldn't stop her as she pushed herself onto her tip toes and placed her lips over his in with the same tender manner she kissed the tree behind her.

"You're the cure."

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He couldn't think.

God he couldn't breath without relating it to her. His feet carried him in a fast pace back and forth, back and forth. He moved angrily, forgetting all his basic stealth training for the time being.

His grumbles of complaint were carried softly on the wind as he continues his pace back and forth, back and forth. Should he go to her? He felt the warm air calling to him and swore he could hear the gentle clang of a canteen in the distance.

Back.

He wouldn't slave himself to such pathetic emotions. He didn't need love or a warm bed at night. He didn't need the peaceful civilian life that he'd long ago given up. He needed revenge.

Forward.

Itachi was dead though. Revenge was not nearly as sweet as he had believed. But given the choice he would go again. He would hurt her again and leave her lying on the cold bench on the outskirts of town.

He would try to avoid falling for her.

His feet had settled on this path, hurling him into the clearing she was already standing in. He had to pause at the sight of her, taking in her smiling form, listening to the hum build in her chest.

He wanted to wipe that sincere smile off her face, wanted to mar the perfect flesh that taunted him from beneath her tank top. He wanted to rip the closed buds growing on the tree and make sure they would never bloom for her.

He was angry.

She seemed surprised to see him storming towards her. He tasted the shock on her tongue when he claimed her lips with his own, forcefully dominating her with a simple kiss. It was nothing like the sweet moment she had given him the last time they spoke. It was raw and needy, his tongue gliding easily over hers as he held her face to his. He felt her fingers on his wrist but she didn't stop him. She'd be sorry for that.

He'd make her sorry for that.

The passionate gasp she released when he pushed her against her favorite tree had him reeling. He relished in the warmth of her skin, touching every part within his reach. Fingers trailed lazy circles on her thigh, just below the seam of her regular black shorts.

Another kiss had her falling limp in his arms. He only pushed her harder into the protesting tree, pushing his tongue into her mouth with a rhythm he'd much rather use somewhere else. He swallowed her mewls and pleasured cry, devouring every gasped syllable of his name.

"You want this don't you?" He asked upon his release of her lips. His hard arousal pressed into her, moving his hips harshly against her own. He smiled at her little cries and half protests. He licked the shell of her ear before tenderly biting it, thrusting his covered member against her harshly.

"You've always wanted this." His whispered, callus padded hands tugging down the shorts in his way. He was fast to undo the zipper to her front, nearly hissing at the sweet pleasure the feel of her skin caused him.

"Please," She begged him quietly, her own bold finders wandering to find the ties to his pants, releasing him without a moment's hesitation.

With one hard thrust he was completely in her, stilling at the tight feeling of her warmth. His own low moan slipped over his lips as he stilled inside her, buried to the hilt. She contracted and pulsed around him, begging him to move even an inch.

He loved the way she moved against him, begging him with small whimpers.

"Please?" He questioned tauntingly, withdrawing from her at an achingly slow pace. He still left her gasping, head pressed to the bark behind her.

"P-please, Sasuke-kun!" She cried, a single frustrated tear falling from the corner of her eye.

He licked it up greedily like the masochist he was, relishing in her pained pleasure. "Please what, Sa-ku-ra?"

He filled her fast and hard again, pressing all the way into her in one quick thrust. Her moan fogged his mind with even more pleasure. He felt his breaking point nearing before he would completely take her for himself.

"Please," She opened her eyes, her fingers rising to trace the line of his cheek bone as she stared, unafraid of the sharingan swirling back at her. "Touch me like I'll never feel again."

He never could deny her in the end.

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It had been a week since their last encounter, so he knew she would return soon. It was almost time to water her blooming tree and watch the flowers slowly fall. She had showed him that even dead things could thrive and blossom before the tender love of her heart.

Even _his_ heart.

Walking toward their opening he paused, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. He knew someone was ahead, but it wasn't the girl he now craved. His veins burned with want but he ignored it, curiosity getting the better of him..

A mess of blonde hair was the biggest give away.

The exuberant boy sat oddly quite, resting his weight against the large tree behind him. His eyes were closed as he breathed softly, Sasuke nearly laughing at how unguarded he was.

"That's a good way to get killed."

The male before him barely stirred as he drew closer, each step echoed by the crunch of crisp grass beneath his feet. Sasuke studied the knuckleheaded ninja, waiting for his presence to be acknowledged. None came as he stopped before the resting man, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Ah Sasssuke." A grin spilled across the blonde's features as he cracked open his vibrant eyes, watching the missing nin as if he didn't have a care in the world. Red eyes narrowed into a fierce glare, his foot kicking Naruto's lax hand. The liquid in his canteen sloshed violently before settling once again.

"You're drunk." Sasuke bit, kneeling down before his friend so they might talk eye to eye. Sure enough Naruto's cheeks were tinged a light pink and the smell of sake wafted into Sasuke's nose.

"I'm allowed," Naruto mumbled, an aged expression washing over his features. Sasuke realized then how much he had truly missed, and that the boy before him was indeed a man. A moment passed in silence as they merely noted each other, taking in the features they hadn't seen in so long. Sasuke could only think how mad Sakura would be to see him dragging a drunk Naruto through the gates.

"She said you'd be here." Naruto hiccuped, his body shifting some only to sway and settle against the tree once more. The hindrance was apparently no big deal, the canteen easily lifting up to wet his lips once more. With a sigh Sasuke moved to sit beside him, both men looking out at the gentle sway of spring's grass.

"Then why are you here?" Sasuke scoffed, listening to the soft roll of liquid as Naruto took another long drink. He waited as the blonde's arm lowered once more, the content sigh one often gets from drinking falling off Naruto's lips. "And drunk no less?"

"The occasion calls for it." Naruto spit bitterly, a feeling that caught Sasuke off guard. He knew he wasn't one to ask for forgiveness, yet he had always imagined Naruto to offer it. The silence grew around them again as the sun began to lower in the sky, and Naruto continued to drink. Sasuke shifted uneasily before settling again with a long sigh.

Something in the air made Sasuke's heart clench.

"She didn't tell you did she?" Naruto chuckled, an impish grin spreading across his features as if he held some kind of secret.

"Tell me what?" Sasuke snapped, irked by the smugness radiating from the man beside him.

Naruto's laughter sliced the air like knives. It was broken and sharp, and nearly as fake as the dyes that colored his orange jacket. But the laughter slowly broke and cracked, and Sasuke could hear the tears in his eyes without having to look.

"Cancer."

The word struck a chip in Sasuke's frozen heart.

He couldn't speak even if he somehow formulated words to say. His brain was brought to a screeching halt and the world seemed to crumble around them. His eyes lifted, watching as the first cherry blossoms of the season began to gently fall, dancing on the wind in a form of sweet temptation, only to flutter away easily.

First her name, then her hair, and now she withered away just like the dieing tree that supported the two lone figures left in her wake.

"Dead?"

He listened to the heavy sigh fall from Naruto's lips. The sound of the canteen lifting made its presence known again as the broken man took another long gulp. "Yesterday."

"_I don't have time for silly crushes."_

They sat in a desperate silence. Sasuke wondered briefly if this was how Naruto always felt when he had been left all alone. Naruto wondered if this was how Sasuke felt when his clan was slaughtered. It was true for the two of them. In the end they both felt lost.

"_Medicine can't always fix what's broken, Sasuke."_

Sasuke was shaken from his thoughts as he felt the cold metal of Naruto's canteen pressed to his hand. He glanced at his old friend only to find him watching the cherry blossoms fall around them, tears falling down the contours of his face. He too was captivated by their beauty. They both had been captivated by hers.

"_You're not the disease, Sasuke. You're the cure."_

The metal storage of alcohol felt heavy, but he managed to lift it easily enough. Stopping just before his lips he could already taste the bitter flavor on his tongue. The smell alone was enough to make him gag.

"_Touch me like I'll never feel again."_

He resolved himself and took a few hard gulps. The liquid cooled his mouth and flowed easily over his tongue. As he watched the blossoms fall he could feel the stinging in his throat, and swore to himself that he didn't feel the burning tears in his eyes.

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Hope you enjoyed this sad little oneshot Reviews are much appreciated.


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